Effect of pulp mill sludge on soil characteristics, microbial community and vegetal production of Lolium Perenne

Abstract

The effect of pulp mill sludge addition (10-30 Mg/ha) to soil derived from volcanic ash (Andisol) on soil characteristics, microbial community and Lolium perenne L. cv quartet. biomass production was evaluated in field assays. Soil without sludge was used as a control treatment. The sludge addition improved the chemical properties of the soil. Organic matter and phosphorous content increased in the soil with increasing amounts of sludge, obtaining 35% more organic matter content with the application of 30 Mg/ha than the control soil. The phosphorous was accumulated into the soil after the end of cultivation improving the phosphorous pool in the soil. When 30 Mg/ha sludge was added to the soil, a biomass of Lolium perenne, was 60% more than the control soil at the end of the experiment. The analysis of soil microbial community showed that the application of sludge did not modify greatly the microbial community of fungi and bacteria even when high doses were applied.